Belize

Axco provides details on the life insurance sector including Belizean market participants, reinsurance and distribution channels. The reports describe classes of business from both individual and group life such as whole life, endowment, term life and unit-linked.
Information on non-life classes for example critical illness and private medical insurance.

The report describes the public and private healthcare system in Belize, the scope of cover, accessibility financing and provides an analysis of how the public and private systems complement each other.

Axco reports on the three pillars of Belizean pension provision.

• State pension benefits including benefit calculations and eligibility criteria 
• Workplace pension provision; types of schemes calculations eligibility and; tax implications
• Voluntary individual pension provision, type of products and tax implications

The Belize report provides an in-depth analysis of the regulatory framework governing social security as well as details on financing and eligibility. Information includes but is not limited to

• state pensions,
• permanent disability benefit
• occupational accident and disease
• maternity and paternity payments 

Summary and Trends

The Belizean life insurance and pension market is a small one with steady, modest growth. The life insurance market including PA and healthcare grew by 4.99% in 2018 to BZD 55.17mn.

There is no state insurance company in Belize. In April 2020 the five life insurance licences were held by: SICL; RF&G Life; and ...

Summary and Trends

As of 2016 all private pensions became subject to regulation consequent upon the expansion of the regulator's role; OSI took responsibility for private pensions, renamed OSIPP, bringing with it new principal law in 2016, followed by accompanying regulations and amending legislation the following year.

The COVID-19 pandemic is expected to have a significant effect on the majority of social security and pension markets ....

Summary and Trends

The creation of a new National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme is expected to be a major development for the people of Belize, although healthcare delivery has been the subject of unfulfilled political commitments over the years. Progress has been steady, if slow, the aim being to devolve administration to four regions with case management prioritised for continuity of care.